How to Find the Best, Inexpensive Travel Accommodations

I don't understimate the importance of choosing where to stay when traveling. I couldn't count the times I've heard: "It's only a bed to sleep on - what's the fuss?"

But a hotel room transcends more than just a bed! It is an opportunity to experience a place more potently. It is an opportunity at immersing oneself in a reality that is sometimes completely foreign from one's own. It has the excitement of a temporary, pretend screenplay where you live an alternate reality, where you have conversations with strangers you otherwise wouldn't have, where you eat food you otherwise wouldn't have. I don't think I could ever pass up on the chance of strategically juxtaposing myself in areas rife with that much intensity and realness.

When I travel, I want to feel like I've traveled. I want to experience something outside of what I already know. Besides, after a long day of being on your feet, the last thing you want to do, I'm sure, is come home to a room with filthy carpets, moldy bathrooms, and creaky spring beds.

And as if my list of must-haves isn't long enough yet, I have a general rule of not spending more than a whopping $100 per night on a room. I would splurge every once in a while for $135 per night or $150 tops, but only for very, very special short stays.

Lofty? Sure. Possible? Yes!

The hunt for the perfect travel digs is one of my favorite parts of travel planning. I obssess about it! And with that catatonic impulse, I've picked up some general guidelines about finding the most ideal travel digs in vibrant local neighborhoods without breaking the bank.

1 Quit wincing about sharing a bathroom. Really. Get over it. If you pick well, there are guesthouses and bed and breakfasts that are pristine. And really, there never was any inconvenient traffic the many times we've shared bathrooms. I remember staying in a bed and breakfast in Bouillon, Belgium where we only spent 35 euros a night with daily fresh breakfast gingerly prepared by our host. We would have tea and conversations every morning as though we were visiting family. Authentic experiences like these are part and parcel of what makes travel memories linger.

2 If you haven't heard of Airbnb - where have you been? Airbnb is a website where you rent a variety of iterations of accommodations - from entire cabins, to private rooms, to entire apartments - from private homeowners. We tend to rent Airbnb's when in Europe, however. We've stayed in marvelous modern apartments in the Montmartre and Marais neighborhoods in Paris, and in Pantheon in Rome. For whatever reason, I find private apartment rentals in the US expensive.

3 Glamping: Putting the Glam in camping. Think tent cabins already set up for you equipped with minimalist furnishings, and some, even with rugged luxury. Depending on the type you rent and where, available comforts would range from mattresses, heated blankets, and electricity. There are not very many of them out there and although it is not ideal every time, in places of extreme and extraordinary natural beauty, I would opt for it over any hotel any day. My favorites so far are Costanoa along the California Coast (come during full moon or drive in a hybrid and get discounts) and tent cabins in the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park (we paid $70 for a three-person tent cabin in September).

4 Go rural. I would recommend these for vacations centered around gastronomy because their eponymous location is in the countryside, away from all the action. In Italy, they're called "agriturismo". In France, search for "ferme". Don't expect extravagance and luxury in these places. However, the hospitality you get along with the freshness and quality of food in-house is unmatched. The feeling of being fully integrated into how locals live and eat, and their surroundings, is one of those things that get etched as deep memories of a place.

5 Bid on it. I swear by Priceline’s Name Your Own Price because so far, it hasn’t let me down. It's pretty much about the only time we stay at 4-5 star hotels without breaking the bank. Priceline is a website that sells rooms at a rack rate, but they also have a section on their website where you can bid on a room. You specify how much you want to pay, the minimum number of hotel stars you'll settle for, and the neighborhood/s of your prefrence. Yes, you can lowball but remember that you also have to be realistic. The catch with this is is you won’t actually find out which hotel it is until your bid is accepted and you’ve paid for the room. I’ve had a high rate of success with bidding and would recommend it to anyone looking for rooms in the bigger cities in the US that are on the higher end. The only prerequisite is that you know a little bit more about the neighborhood. These are riskier because they're non-refundable, non-changeable once booked.

6 Forget the bells and whistles. On planning a recent trip to Kyoto, I’ve learned that hotel rooms are expensive, especially in the Gion historic district. I had wanted to to stay in a traditional Japanese ryokan, but those things (at least the authentic, quality ones) fall in the $200 and higher range is out of reach for me. Enter Sim’s Cozy Guesthouse for $80 a night. It still provided a very traditional experience since our sleeping arrangement consisted of laying a futon mattress on a tatami mat without the frills. I'm also currently a planning to the Swiss Alps and being that the swiss franc got stronger literally the day I committed to a holiday in Switzerland during the most expensive time of the year, my choices for an authentic place to stay has narrowed significantly. After hundreds of hours combing through websites, I found a mountain lodge that fit the bill - and the budget! It is away from the busy center (a plus, really), has shared bathrooms, serves traditional Swiss breakfast at a fraction of the cost of typical Swiss accommodations.

7 Summer travel is overrated. Places get overrun with tourists, the climate can get stifling, and prices are ridiculous. Travel in the shoulder season or that in-between time of the year when a minimal amount of tourists travel. Not quite winter, not quite summer. Summer, as a general rule, is an extremely expensive time to travel. In California or say, New York, or even Europe, March gets cheap. Italy and the Carribean side of Mexico is beautiful and inexpensive in May and September. South America's sweet spot is that short lull before winter and again before summer.

8 Deal with it! Travelzoo is my favorite for deals in Northern California because they are really selective about the places they run deals for. I specifically watch out for boutique hotels and locally run establishments. They will run over $100 sometimes, but you also get perks such as spa credits, wine, or a meal on the house. Groupon and Living Social will also have reasonable deals from time to time but you have to be decisive and commit to a vacation before the specials run out.

9 Stay in fringes. Airport hotels have a lot of rooms to sell and the competition is intense. They also are oftentimes away from the city center where real estate is cheaper, so they are really able to drive their room rates down. In really expensive cities during peak season, it sometimes make a lot more sense to stay at an airport hotel, especially if the city center is linked to the airport by train/subway, or if you have access to a vehicle. These hotels sometimes even offer free shuttle service to town. If it is your repeat visit to a city you already know fairly well, airport hotels are an economic alternative. For the same amount of money, sometimes your choices are between a two star motel in the city center and a Hilton or a Marriott 20 minutes away. It’s a no-brainer to me.

10 Escape during the work week. Law of supply and demand states that hotel rates from Sunday to Thursday drop and spike up on Friday and Saturday. On the converse, if you pick to stay at an area concentrated on business travelers (i.e. Embarcadero in San Francisco), you might score discounted rates on the weekend. See if you can combine with #5 above.

#travel